pontificate Hear it!

pontificate Definition

pon·tifi·cate (pän tif′i kit, -kāt′; for v., -kāt′)

noun

the office, or term of office, of a pontiff

Etymology: L pontificatus < pontifex: see pontiff

intransitive verb -·cat′ed, -·cat′·ing

  1. to officiate as a pontiff
  2. to speak or act in a pompous or dogmatic way

Etymology: < ML pontificatus, pp. of pontificare

pontificate Related Forms
pon·tif′i·ca′·tor noun
pontificate Synonyms

pontificate

n.

popedom, bishopric, the Vatican; see papacy.

pontificate Usage Examples

Preposition: about

  • affair: The arrogance of academics pontificating about rural affairs - are they letting us down?
  • need: Within days of the results, their spokesman was on Newsnight pontificating about the need to persuade the electorate to accept the single currency.

Preposition: on

  • subject: Clare is better qualified than I am to pontificate on this subject.
  • matter: Ignorance is no bar to the daily chore of pontificating on complex matters.

Preposition: at

  • length: Meanwhile Nicholas Parson pontificates at great length over the rise of the Lib Dems.

Adjective modifier

  • 25-year: John Paul II His 25-year pontificate is 25 years of world history.
  • 26-year: It was the first time that John Paul II had failed to deliver the Angelus blessing in his 26-year pontificate.

Modifying Another Word

  • about: And all political blogs should be about pontificating from an armchair about issues which the blogger knows nothing about.
  • just: However he insists that he is not one to just pontificate but get things done.
  • not: BROWN: I am not an expert on that subject, so I will not pontificate on it.
  • n't: Boy, he read her feelings and he did n't pontificate, he asked a question.
  • away: While the EU Heads of Government were pontificating away in Laeken, we were holding a counter-summit on the other side of town.

Preposition: in

  • history: The scope of the text is breathtaking as it sets out the blueprint for one of the greatest pontificates in history.